You Shouldn't Be A Guardian
by BambixRonno
Summary: Jack is by his lake when he has an unfortunate run with the groundhog, leprechaun and Cupid. Afraid, Jack tries to avoid the Guardians so that they don't find out about the growing doubt and self-hatred in his mind. But what happens when they find him lying unconscious on his lake with only three words cut into his back? Oneshot


**I've had this idea floating in my head for a few days now and I finally decided to get it written down. Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters in it (unfortunately)**

Jack stared at the moon, lying on a tree branch at his lake and a small smile on his face. Ever since he had become a Guardian, his life had begun to get better. He could finally be seen, the Guardians no longer hated him, and Pitch hadn't shown any signs of returning yet. And he could still be himself and have fun.

The sound of a twig snapping interrupted Jack's thoughts and he leapt down from the tree, his staff raised in a threatening manner and his knuckles white from gripping it so hard. "Alright, who ever is there, show yourself!"

"Now now, Jack Frost, there's no need to get so riled up at innocent spirits now, is there?" Came a voice, and three figures stepped out of the shadows, causing Jack to instantly relax and lower his staff at the sight of them.

On his right was a boy, who was a bit younger than him, with pink hair and grey eyes. He wore a loose pink and white stripped top, and red pants, with matching shoes.

To Jack's left was another boy, one about the same age as the first, with green hair and gold eyes, his shirt a bright green colour and his pants were yellow, with a belt at the top of it. His shoes were brown and had gold buckles on them.

Finally, in front of him, was someone who was, physically, a bit older than Jack, who was guessing he had died in his 20's. His brown hair and eyes were a much lighter shade than Jack's used to be when he was human, and his shirt and pants were black, as well as the dozens of freckles that seemed to have exploded across his nose. Like Jack, he was shoeless, but that was for a reason.

"Hello Cupid, Leppy, Ground." Jack said, smiling and leaning on his staff. 'Leppy' and 'Ground' were nicknames given to the Leprechaun and Groundhog, simply because no one could be bothered to address them using their full names. Cupid, however, hated any nickname given to him, and refused to answer to it unless he felt a huge need to. Cupid and Leppy were also twins, since according to them, they were twins when they were mortal. Cupid had killed himself when his girlfriend dumped him, and Leppy had choked on a coin (naturally, when Jack heard this, he had laughed). Ground had been attacked by an animal when he was out hunting, and his wounds got infected, soon killing him.

Naturally, Man in the Moon had a reason to save them all, although Jack only knew his reason for Cupid. Cupid was to spread love amongst the people, and his holiday, Valentines Day, was the day his girlfriend left him. His weapon was a bow and arrow, although it wasn't used for making people fall in love. He had bags of powder for that.

Leppy, for some reason, sat at the end of a rainbow, making coins for all over the world and had his own pot of gold for anyone who put the effort in to find him. He had based his weapons around the gold idea, and one could say he stole Bunny's egg bombs idea. The belt was used for storing bags of gold, ones that exploded when he threw them, sending gold coins all over the place.

Ground took on a different style. He was around to signal when each season started and ended, even though Jack never payed any attention to that, and had the ability to transform into, what Jack assumed to be, a groundhog. His claws were sharp and his teeth like a vampire's, plus he had courage and wits, the type of person to plan everything out before an attack. He was also extremely stuck up, and thought himself to be more important than anyone else, as well as being a huge hypocrite at times, which was why Bunny didn't like him. Ground also wasn't fond of Jack, since he seemed to hate pranks of any kind.

"So, what brings you here?" Jack asked, casually swinging his staff over his shoulder. Ground cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Jack, we're here to discuss a small issue we have of you being a Guardian. You should just quit." He said, his voice calm and smooth, like it always was when he was trying to get someone on his side. Jack simply looked at him, confused. "Well, it's kind of too late now, since I've taken the oath and everything, so there isn't much I can do."

"But you _must _understand." Ground said, clearly impatient. It was obvious how much thought he had put into this speech, and he wouldn't be happy if Jack didn't obey. Still, why should Jack do what he wanted? "You aren't meant to be a Guardian, otherwise you would have been made one from the start."

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Jack said, irritation clear in his voice. "Man in the Moon chose me to be a Guardian, and trust me, I did NOT want to be one at first. Surely if you have a problem you should discuss it with him? I'm sure he told you more than just your name when you awoke as a spirit." Jack said that last part with a slight amount of envy. As far as the other Guardians were concerned, Jack was the only spirit who had only received his name when he was reborn.

Ground just scowled. "Man in the Moon made a mistake. He only wanted you to defeat Pitch. Haven't you noticed how he only wanted your help when Pitch returned?"

"It's true." Cupid said, backing him up. "Even if you've taken the oath, you can't be a Guardian. You know the others will only turn their backs on you again and leave you alone for another three hundred years."

Jack flinched, their words cutting deeper than any knife could. True, it _was _strange that he had only been acknowledged in any positive way when they needed his help, and they weren't always that trustworthy. But still...

"T-that isn't true!" Jack exclaimed. "You're lying! The Guardians wouldn't do that!"

"Oh yes they would." Ground said, smirking. His words were having an effect on the winter spirit, and he knew it. "It's not like you're that popular anyway. As soon as Jamie and his friends grow up, you'll have no believers. And as soon as that day comes, the Guardians will turn their backs on you, saying how much of a useless Guardian you are."

Jack stiffened, his grip on his staff tightening. It was true, he _didn't _have a lot of followers, just Jamie and his friends, although Jamie's belief was strong. But they were spreading the word around, and surely they would tell their children about him and the other Guardians, right?

_But what if they do forget me? _Jack thought to himself. _What if they pass me off as a part of their imagination, and pretend they've never even heard of me? _Jack didn't know what to think. Both arguments were flying around in his head, fighting like angry wasps. Could it be true? Would the Guardians really abandon him, and leave him alone again for three hundred years? Maybe more?

_NO! Stop it, Jack, that won't happen and you know it!_ Yet Jack couldn't reason with himself, and the nagging doubt wouldn't leave his mind.

"S-shut up! The Guardians wouldn't do that! Nor would Jamie!" Jack yelled, ducking his head so they wouldn't see his eyes beginning to water.

"Oh please, Jack, we're all right, and you know it." Ground smirked, taking another step closer, with Cupid and Leppy doing the same thing. "You're such a baby, crying like that. And don't pretend you aren't, we can see it!"

Jack tried not to look up, as he fought back tears. He would not cry – not in front of these people. Crying was showing weakness. There was no way he would give them the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

"S-stop it! Why are you so against me being a Guardian? What did I ever do to you?" Jack yelled, anger and pain taking over his body.

"Why? Why are we against this? Because no one needs you, Jack. None of the other Guardians need you, or you wouldn't have been alone for three hundred years. None of the other spirits need you, either. You mess up all of the seasons, completely ignoring my signals, you make it hard for Leppy to make his gold, and you damage all of Cupid's hard work, breaking up happy couples as you shoot your cold into their hearts. Not to mention the lives people have lost with your blizzards. And remind me again what happened to the Titanic? Oh right, it hit an ice berg and sunk. That was you, too. You mess everything up, and you know we would make better Guardians than you ever would!"

All of this hurt, a lot. Jack tried not to remember the blizzards he had accidentally made, the beautiful ships he had sunk, and all the anger he had received from the other spirits. OK, maybe he angered the spirits on purpose sometimes, but he just wanted attention. Ground was right, no one needed him. Somehow these words reminded Jack of when Pitch told him that he made a mess of everything, no matter where he went, and it was _true. _He did mess everything up.

Before he could stop himself, Jack opened his mouth and yelled at the top of his lungs, "You will never deserve to be Guardians!"

There were three gasps, and Jack's hand flew to his mouth. To anyone else, this wouldn't have mattered, but to say it to Ground was like signing your death contract and handing it over to the devil. Everyone knew how badly Ground wanted to be a Guardian, and he had only gotten angry when Bunny had put him in his place after becoming one.

Ground twitched and began walking forward, Cupid and Leppy mirroring his actions, backing Jack up into a tree.

"I – I didn't mean that, I swear!" Jack said, desperate, but the three ignored him as Ground grabbed at Jack's hoodie and threw him roughly into the ice, his staff landing a few feet away from him. Cupid and Leppy pounced, and Jack's screams of terror filled the air as he begged for mercy. Yet his pleas fell upon deaf ears as pain zapped through the winter spirit's body. He finally let out a yell of pain as Ground snapped his staff in half. Now in too much pain to move, Jack panted heavily as Leppy and Cupid finally got off of him, clutching his stomach and groaning weakly. Ground gave him a hard kick in the side before leaving with the twins.

Jack lay there for a long time before he finally got to his knees and crawled over to his staff. The pain now travelling up to his chest, Jack desperately pressed the two halves together and concentrated, soon letting out a blue light as he began to fix it, eventually collapsing in exhaustion, clutching it tightly. He could, of course, have fought back, but Jack was afraid that the other Guardians would find out he harmed another spirit, and would, in a way, fire him, telling him he should control his anger and not react to the other spirits, and he should just grow up and mature. So instead, he just tucked his knees up to his chest and cried.

A month had passed since that day, and Jack had received regular attacks from the three, every day at the same time. He hadn't shown up to any of the weekly gatherings the Guardians held, and was late for any meeting. Even then he usually kept his hood up, to hide any bruises he might have. The other Guardians soon began to grow worried, even Bunny. Every one of them noticed the change in the youngest Guardian, never even finding the slightest prank anywhere. Yet his smile was very convincing, and he would always shrug it off with a joke. And it wasn't like he wasn't doing his job. Yet all of them grew concerned when Sandy reported to them one day and told them Jamie hadn't had a single snowball fight with Jack for weeks. The winter spirit, of course, simply brushed it aside and said he was busy lately, while he silently thanked the fact he had learnt how to act like nothing was ever wrong.

Jack was lying by the tree trunk one day, his eyes closed as he listened out for the familiar strike of the clock, waiting for the three spirits. He had tried to get out of it once, and was punished with an even worse attack the next time. His eyes were dull, as if all they had ever known was pain and misery, bruises were scattered across his body, with a few of them collecting on his face, and he had a faint line on his lip from where it had been split open.

Soon he heard the nearby clock strike the hour. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Ten o'clock. He wouldn't be waiting much longer.

Exactly five seconds after the clock struck for the tenth time, three shadows detached themselves from the darkness of the trees and stepped into the light. As usual, they were right on time.

"Hello, Jack, ready to receive today's punishment?" Ground said, smirking. A month ago Jack might have replied with a sarcastic comment, or would have yelled "just get on with it already" but now he simply hung his head as he rose to his feet. Gone was the mischievous Guardian of Fun that people knew.

Ground grabbed his hoodie and slammed him repeatedly into a tree, with Cupid and Leppy at the side, laughing and taunting him, saying things that Jack should have been used to by now as he began to collect more bruises.

Jack suddenly gasped as Ground's knee came into contact with his chest, leaving him breathless. His staff began to glow and sent out a shower of icy sparks, blowing them all back as all of Jack's pain, anger and suffering erupted out of him.

Ground glared at him as Jack's eyes widened at what he had done. Snarling in anger, Ground leapt and pinned him against the tree. "How dare you fight back like that, you pathetic, useless, unwanted spirit!" He yelled, making pain explode through every inch of Jack's body as every single nerve screamed like it was on fire. "Please, I didn't want that to happen. I – it was just a reaction! I swear, I never meant to-" Jack cut off, choking, as Ground's hand's wrapped tightly around his throat, claws digging into his skin and dangerously close to knocking him out. Jack's thrashing limbs began to slow down as they began to get tired, his body on fire from the lack of oxygen. He was just beginning to see black dots clouding his vision when he was thrown violently to the floor, his lungs greedily gulping down the air he so desperately needed. Cupid and Leppy took off his hoodie and shirt, almost tearing them, and Ground leapt on him, Jack's bare back vulnerable to the abusive spirit above him. Smirking, Ground sank a claw into Jack's back, and was rewarded with a scream of pain as he began to carve Jack's name into his back, watching with amusement as his blood rushed to the surface.

After what seemed like forever Ground removed his blood-stained claw and got off as Cupid and Leppy shoved Jack's clothing back on him, immediately staining them crimson, before following Ground into the shadows.

Jack lay there for a few seconds – or was it a few hours? - before dragging himself over to the spot where he had dropped his staff. Blood was dripping down his face and neck, his lip split open again and his hoodie slowly turning red as it became more and more drenched in blood. Jack weakly reached for his most prized possession before passing out, his fingers just inches away from the wood.

North was frantically looking for Jack along with Tooth, Sandy and Bunny after Jack had missed the Winter Meeting. Sure, the boy was usually late but he never, ever missed even a single meeting, and had sent everyone out to look for them, hoping that Jack had just forgotten and was playing with Jamie, safe and sound.

Tooth was flying around the wood, looking for any sign of the winter spirit, before finding a lake in the distance and flying towards it. Of course – why hadn't she looked there first? Jack loved hanging around that lake he called 'home'.

The minute she got there, Tooth screamed and turned to the fairy on her shoulder, ordering it to get the other Guardians. Soon everyone was standing in the middle of the lake, staring at the unconscious spirit in front of them, with Baby Tooth on his shoulder. Gently, North scooped Jack up in his arms and carried him to the sleigh, with Tooth clutching his staff and trying not to cry. For once, Bunny got in the sleigh without complaining, and they set off for the North Pole.

North was pacing angrily. He wanted to know what had happened to Jack – of course he did, Jack was like a son to him – and it was frustrating to know he couldn't wake the boy up. In fact, he had been shut out of the infirmary for getting under Tooth and Sandy's feet. Bunny was tapping his foot impatiently outside, watching North walk backwards and forwards, before Tooth finally opened the door. "Bunny, North, you might want to take a look at this." She said, and let them in.

Jack was lying on his front in one of the infirmary's beds, with his hoodie and shirt removed and his back exposed. Bunny and North gasped as they saw the words 'Jack Frost' carved into his back, with a name at the bottom. Bunny squinted as he read the name, then growled. "Ground. It was Ground."

Jack could hear voices. Who the voices belonged to, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that after he had fallen unconscious, his mind had been plagued with nightmares – nightmares of the other Guardians walking away from him, telling him that he was useless, that no one wanted him, that Man in the Moon had chosen him only so they could defeat Pitch. Then he had been thrown into a lake, and water filled his lungs so quickly it was unnatural, even for a dream, before the voices had cut through the darkness of his nightmare and chased the bad dream away.

Slowly, Jack's eyelids fluttered open, his vision slightly fuzzy, but clearing after he blinked a few times. His eyes made out the four figures of his fellow Guardians, looking at him with concern filling their eyes. The minute they saw his eyes open, they practically pounced on him, causing him to yelp and try to back away. He was deprived of oxygen for the second time that day when he was showered with hugs that nearly made his spine snap.

"Guys – can't – breath." Jack gasped, relieved to find they got off him at once, although one look at Bunny made him instantly panic. The rabbit's eyes were filled with anger and what appeared to be hatred, although Jack didn't know if the anger was aimed at _him. _He decided to not get his hopes up.

"Jack, what happened to you, mate?" Bunny asked, looking straight into the winter spirit's eyes and making the immortal teen shift uncomfortably.

"I don't know what you guys are-"

"Don't lie to us, Frost." Bunny growled, frustrated with the winter spirit's stubbornness, yet forced himself to calm down when he saw Jack flinch. "We saw what Ground wrote. We need you to tell us the truth."

Jack was clearly still uncertain, his eyes flicking between each of the Guardians nervously, as if he was about to be yelled at. Tooth held his hand while looking at North, silently begging him to say something.

"Jack, whatever has happened, we promise, we won't get angry with you, no matter what you've done." North said, in the best soothing, fatherly voice he could. "But you have to tell us what happened."

Jack's eyes flickered to North, making the older man immediately panic when he saw how dull they were. "You – you promise? You won't abandon me?" Jack said, his voice barely above a whisper. North nodded. "Promise."

Jack appeared to relax slightly, as he decided it was safe to tell them. Maybe it would be better to get his side of the story in first, before Ground made up some kind of lie about it to get him banished.

"Well, shortly after I became a Guardian, Ground, Leppy and Cupid showed up at my lake." Jack began, silently wishing he was anywhere but here, even if it meant he would be back at the lake being beaten. "They – they started to tell me that I shouldn't be a Guardian, that Manny made a mistake, that no one needed me. And I – I kind of said something I shouldn't have before I could stop myself." He broke off as he looked at the Guardians, expecting to see shock and hatred for him in their eyes. Bunny tapped his foot impatiently. As far as he was concerned, Ground didn't deserve any kindness.

"What was it you said, Jack?" Tooth asked, her voice so kind and gentle it made Jack relax slightly. So far he wasn't in trouble.

"I – I accidentally told Ground that he didn't deserve to be a Guardian." Jack admitted, then hurriedly continued before he could hear the others yell at him. "I didn't mean to say it, I swear! It just sort of – came out. But Ground didn't listen and had Leppy and Cupid attack me." Jack stopped again, looking at the Guardians as if he was asking for permission to continue. They all nodded, and Jack started again.

"Ever since then, at about 10 o'clock, Ground, Leppy and Cupid have attacked me, which is why I was always late to any meetings, and taunt me. It was today that Ground wrote – well, whatever it is he wrote – on my back. He kneed me in the stomach and I – I must have had some kind of reaction because all of a sudden, there was ice surrounding me and pushing them back."

Jack was shaking now, trying to fight back tears and wishing he hadn't told the Guardians this, wishing that he came up with some kind of excuse, wishing that he didn't even exist. Ground was going to kill him for this, and the Guardians were surely going to banish him forever. And he'd be alone – again. Yet he couldn't turn back now.

"I don't have any idea how I did it, but Ground didn't let me explain and started strangling me." Jack turned his head slightly to show the others the claw marks in his neck. "I was about to pass out when Ground threw me against the ice. He'd gotten his claws out, and that's when he started writing on my back, with Leppy and Cupid taunting me. Eventually he got off of me and left. That was when I passed out."

Jack looked up at the Guardians, signalling that he was finished, fear written across his face. What he was afraid of, they didn't know.

Bunny spoke first. "Why didn't you fight back? You know how to, surely Ground wasn't that intimidating?"

Jack dropped his head. "I – I was afraid." He admitted. "I was scared you guys would find out I fought back and leave me alone again, telling me I needed to control my temper and grow up."

Tooth squeezed Jack's hand. "Jack, how long ago was this? Why didn't you tell us?"

Jack shifted uncomfortably, clearly getting nervous at where this was going, unable to read the Guardian's emotions, unsure who their anger was aimed at. "It started – about a month ago I think? And I didn't want to seem like I was complaining about it. You guys are busy enough without having to sort out my problems, too."

_Of course._ North thought, silently cursing himself. _We left him alone for 300 years to fend and care for himself. He's still learning that he can trust us after Easter. No wonder he didn't tell us about this immediately._

Bunny seemed to realise something else. "Hold on a moment, you say that they taunted you? What was it they said?"

Jack hesitated, looking into the rabbit's eyes, hoping that the anger he saw in them wasn't aimed at him. "They – they said – they said things like I was going to be alone again after Jamie and his friends stopped believing, and that you would turn your backs on me and call me a useless Guardian. And – he told me that I messed everything up, that a lot of people lost their lives because of me." North opened his mouth to say something but Jack cut him off. "And you know what the worst part is? Ground's _right!_ It's true, I – I do mess everything up. Sometimes the ice on water isn't thick enough, and people drown. And what about all the blizzards I've caused? The people who have died because of them? And need I remind you of the Titanic? T-that ship would still be _afloat _if it hadn't hit that glacier!"

By now tears were streaming down Jack's face, pain and torture filling his eyes. They knew now. They would realise how awful he was – recognise that every creature that died in a blizzard, every innocent person that drowned in the winter, every life lost when the Titanic sunk, died because of _him. _They would banish him for sure, and Jack felt like he deserved it. No, better yet, he deserved to be dead. He wished that the moon had never saved his life, that he'd have drowned in that lake and stayed dead forever, his lifeless body floating aimlessly in the water. He wished he had never tried to teach his sister how to skate, so that he would have died peacefully of old age, and all those people he had killed with his blizzards and ice bergs would have been given the chance to live at least a little bit longer.

Bunny was practically shaking with anger and hatred for the groundhog, who had clearly planted doubt and self-hate in Jack's mind the way Pitch could have never done by saying it over and over again every single day for a month. Yet he was partly angry at himself and the Guardian's. Why had they not taken notice of Jack's strange behaviour sooner? Why had they all turned a blind eye to a child in need for 300 years, leaving him on his own and expecting him to know how to control his powers, making him lonely and unable to trust others? The Blizzard of '68 didn't help either, since Bunny had yelled at Jack, telling him to control his powers and grow up. Remembering this only made Bunny feel even more guilty. It must have struck hard when Ground told Jack they would all abandon him and tell him to grow up, because that's exactly what Bunny _had _told Jack 200 years ago. Not to mention shattering whatever trust Jack had for them last Easter when they blamed him when no eggs would have made it to the surface, refusing to give him a chance to explain, to tell them his side of the story. And Ground could be very persuading when he wanted. It shouldn't have been very hard to make Jack doubt and hate himself if the words were chosen carefully. No doubt they were.

Jack turned away, not wanting them to see his face if so much as a single tear slipped past his defences. He was waiting – waiting for Tooth to break down, ashamed of him, for Sandy to turn away, disgusted with him, for Bunny to yell at him, saying that he was a cold, heartless murderer, that he shouldn't even exist, for North to banish him forever, strip him from his Guardian title, take his staff away to make sure he didn't hurt anyone else, for hundreds of more years of loneliness, pain and frustration of not understanding what it was he had done to deserve this life, his nights being him alone in the Antarctic, his shoulders shaking from silent sobs as he cried himself to sleep, never again receiving a peaceful dream. And he deserved _all _of it, and more.

All of the Guardian's had shocked expressions plastered on their face, Bunny's mixed with anger, at Jack's sudden outburst. North motioned for them to come outside, and the four trailed out, leaving Jack with Baby Tooth and Phil the yeti for company.

The Guardian's went straight to the Globe Room, knowing that Jack was fully capable of listening to their conversation if they stood in the hallway. North collapsed in his chair and nodded to Bunny, signalling that it was safe for him to explode.

"How DARE Ground!" Bunny immediately yelled, making North suddenly doubt how soundproof the walls and doors might be. "How dare he have the NERVE to do something like that to Jack! North, please tell me you're not gonna just sit there and let Ground get away with this!" North sighed. "Bunny, we haven't gotten the full story, we need to hear Ground's side of the story first, he might have had a good reason-"

"A GOOD REASON?!" Bunny screeched, slamming his fist on a nearby coffee table. "And would you like to tell me, North, exactly what reason would be good enough to let him get away with abusing Jack like that?"

North tried to keep his patience. "We don't know his reasons, Bunny, Ground might have been forced to do this by someone-"

Bunny cut him off again. "No, I don't believe that for a second. First of all, who would possibly force Ground to do that to Jack? Pitch will still be too weak for at least another century to so much as show his face, and all the other spirits wouldn't do that, they don't have the courage. Secondly, Ground could easily fight back on his own, so no one would possibly dare to try and force Ground to harm Jack if Leppy and Cupid were around. Ground hates Jack, you know that, and he wants to become a Guardian more than anything. Let's face it, North, Ground did it because he wanted Jack's job, and when he tried to defend himself, Ground lost his temper and attacked him to scare him enough into not telling us, which wouldn't be hard, since he has next to no trust in us after what happened at Easter."

Sandy made a few symbols above his head, asking what happened at Easter, and Tooth began to fill him in on the details while Bunny continued his rant.

"And you know what makes it worse?" Bunny asked, about fifteen minutes of endless complaining later. "That part of it is our fault."

The minute those seven words left Bunny's mouth, everyone stopped and looked at him. Bunny took a deep breath and tried to explain.

"We left him alone for 300 years, doing nothing but telling him to stop causing trouble, to grow up and control his powers." He began. "We didn't explain anything to him, didn't try to help him gain any believers. We can't even stand five minutes of no one being able to see us, but Jack put up with it for 300 years. All with a smile on his face, still finding time to have fun with the kids that couldn't see him and cause mischief. And then we didn't listen to his side of the story at Easter, obviously destroying all of his trust in us that he had created in such a short amount of time. And he _still _chose to help us, after everything we've done. And now we've ignored him again. We should have done something earlier when we noticed Jack was different, and we didn't!"

North sighed again. "Bunny, we trusted Jack when he said he was fine. He fooled us all. Around us he acted like himself, and I must say, he's a very good actor."

"Years of practice." Bunny hissed, destroying another nearby table. "300 years of practice, to be exact. 300 years of keeping up the mischievous troublemaker act, even when no one could see him, most likely so he could try and block out the pain. 300 years of wearing a fake smile that is almost an exact replica of his real one so that no one would worry about him. And if you ask me, he shouldn't have had those 300 years to perfect his acting abilities." He didn't even let North open his mouth before continuing. "And what's that saying? 'Actions speak louder than words' was it? Jack was acting a little off the whole time and we ignored it! Now we've gone and allowed Ground to make Jack doubt and hate himself!"

North nodded, watching Bunny pant from his 30 minute long rant. "It is Ground's fault just as much as it is ours, Bunny. Think about how Jack would react, seeing you like this."

That made Bunny calm down for a moment. Jack wouldn't be happy, since he hated to see anyone upset. He would never admit it in public (depending on the situation), but Bunny really did care for Jack, he had ever since Jack had arrived at the north pole via a sack and magic portal, and he didn't want to make Jack upset with them any more than Jack wanted to make them upset.

Sighing and now calm, Bunny looked at North, who was sure Jack had heard every word Bunny had said, considering the fact the rabbit had been yelling at the top of his lungs the entire time. "So what are we going to do about this?"

North sat and thought for a while before sighing. "We can't just let it go – Ground's attacks on Jack have lasted for a month now, and to let it continue any longer would just be cruel. But we must be careful with what we say to Ground – no doubt he will try and get revenge on Jack for telling us this." North turned to Bunny. "Would you go and fetch Ground, Leppy and Cupid for us while we go and talk to Jack? He needs to know that none of this is his fault, and he won't be punished for it, but we also need Ground here so we can sort this all out as soon as possible." Bunny nodded and left at once, and North half wondered if he would regret sending Bunny. Knowing that rabbit, if he couldn't control his temper he would either bring Ground to the pole covered in blood or as a corpse.

North returned to the infirmary with Tooth and Sandy behind him, to find Jack fiddling with his staff. Jack's eyes snapped to the door the minute he heard it open, and clutched his staff to his chest, as if they were going to try and snatch it from him.

Tooth fell on Jack at once, trapping him in a hug and crying slightly until Sandy pulled her off. North sat beside Jack, deciding to get straight to the point and not make him wait any longer. The poor boy was nervous enough.

"It's OK, Jack, there's no need to get worried." North said, once again attempting a soothing, fatherly voice. "You're not in trouble or anything, I promise. It's Ground who's going to be punished."

Jack's eyes widened in fear. "N–no! Y–you can't tell him! You can't tell him I told you! He – he'll kill me!" Jack looked at North, almost in tears again. "Please, North."

North sighed and pulled Jack into a hug. "We've already sent Bunny to get them, Jack." North hugged him tighter when he heard Jack whimper. "But I promise, we won't let him hurt you ever again."

Jack began to calm down slightly, but he was still doubtful, his mind panicking. Ground was going to kill him, he knew it, and then he'd probably come up with some lie so that the other Guardian's would kick him out of their mini-family.

Jack suddenly began to think about the last part. Were the Guardian's like a family? Was that how he saw them? It made sense to Jack. He had, without even knowing, brought them all closer together when he became a Guardian. North was like a father to him, his actions about Jack screamed 'fatherly' to the immortal teen. Tooth was like a mother, or a very close aunt, she certainly acted like one. Protective, very loving, kind and gentle, yep. She was like a mother to him. Bunny wasn't very hard to figure out. Their constant arguments and play-fights made it obvious that Bunny was like an annoying older brother to him. Extremely irritating, got annoyed with him quickly, yet he cared for Jack and wouldn't let anyone hurt him, his 'I'm the only one allowed to mess with Jack' attitude very similar to one of a brother's. Sandy, well, Jack guessed Sandy was like a close uncle. He often saw trails of golden sand flying around in the air, but never got to spend a lot of time with him. Yet he knew that Sandy could be a lot of fun, and cared for Jack even though they never got a chance to hang out often. He was also the one that never seemed to get angry at Jack in the 300 years he was alone, but he was just too busy to spend time with him, which Jack could understand.

Yep, he definitely viewed them as a family. Realising this only made Jack even more afraid of them abandoning him again.

Lost in thought, Jack jumped when a hole appeared in the carpet as Bunny leapt out, dragging Ground out of it with Leppy and Cupid trailing behind. If he hadn't been afraid, Jack would have laughed as he saw Ground with a small trail of blood slowly running down his face, starting at his nose. But even Jack had enough sense to know that doing this would mean instant death.

Ground looked at the other Guardian's and smirked, apparently satisfied that his attack had put Jack in the infirmary, which only made Bunny long to tear the groundhog apart limb from limb more than he already wanted to.

"May I ask why it is I'm here?" Ground asked in an innocent voice, although he was clearly hoping to hear that he would be taking Jack's place as a Guardian.

North cleared his throat. "Ground, we found Jack lying unconscious and bleeding on his lake about an hour or two ago, and we discovered that someone had written something on Jack's back, and it had your name on it."

Ground shot a look at Jack that said 'You'd better not have told them', which made Jack flinch and look down at the bed. He knew this was going to happen. It was official. Ground was going to kill him. He was dead. _Goodbye, cruel world._

"I'm sorry, North, but I don't see where you're going with this. Someone else must have wrote that, trying to frame me-"

"And who would do that?" Bunny snapped. "None of the other spirits would have the courage to do that to him."

Ground shifted, pretending to look uncomfortable. "Jack might have done it." He muttered.

"Ground, Jack couldn't have possibly done that to himself. For one, he can't reach properly, and secondly, he doesn't have a reason to try and frame you for anything." Tooth said gently before Bunny could say anything.

"And when Jack woke up, he told us that you had written something on his back today, when you attacked him. And that you had been attacking him for a month." North continued.

"And don't you dare glare at Jack, because he fought like anything to make sure we didn't find out the truth, trying to defend you, so before you can start whining about how he started it or how he attacked you, save it. That 'attack' he made was a reaction, he never even wanted it to happen, he didn't even know he could do that. And before you start complaining about how Jack told you that you didn't deserve to be a Guardian, be thankful that's all he said, because you pushed him into saying that by tormenting him, and he didn't even mean to say that, not to mention I would have knocked you out." Bunny added, growling. Jack's head bent even lower, leaning into Tooth slightly as she hugged him and gently rubbed his back. He could practically feel Ground glare at him, almost hear Ground's mental vow to murder him the minute the winter spirit was alone.

"And also." Bunny continued. "We found out that when you were tormenting him, you told him that we would abandon him and leave him alone for another 300 years. Do you have any idea what he's been through? How DARE you say that to him!"

"Oh come on, Bunny, don't pretend you like him. We all know you hate Jack's guts." Ground spat, with Leppy and Cupid nodding in the background. Out of the corner of his eye, Bunny saw Jack flinch, which only made him angrier.

"I do not hate him." Bunny spat. "Yes, Jack can be annoying, but he's good with kids, he has a good heart, and he's always willing to forgive people. And he's ten times the Guardian you would ever be."

The minute Bunny said those words, Ground snapped. He shoved the other Guardian's to the side, letting Cupid and Leppy attempt to keep them at bay, and leapt at Jack, who yelped and attempted to bury himself under the covers. Ground ripped them off of him and sank his claw's into the winter spirit's back, making him cry out in pain, and lunge for his neck with his teeth, appearing to try and skin the immortal teen alive. Jack whimpered as he felt razor sharp claws tear his back open as teeth like vampire's closed around his neck, drawing blood from what was probably an important artery in his throat, proving that he could kill Jack as soon as he wanted.

Suddenly Ground was off of him, leaving Jack bleeding on the bed, losing energy every second as he weakly turned to see what had saved him from the vicious creature.

Bunny had Ground up against the wall, punching him rapidly in the guts, not even giving him time to breath, which had to hurt. Sandy was keeping Cupid and Leppy away from Ground with help from North, and Tooth had her arms wrapped protectively around him, refusing to let anyone hurt him.

Eventually North dragged Bunny off of a now bleeding Ground, who collapsed to the floor and looked up at North.

"Ground, leave. Don't ever come back, and don't ever even think about trying to look for Jack to harm him, because otherwise we will report to Mother Nature and have her banish you. You know it is against the rules to attack a Guardian. Count yourself lucky we aren't going to report to her straight away." North said, his voice firm. He roughly grabbed Ground's wrist and wrapped some kind of band around it. Jack recognised it as what the Guardian's called an Untruthful Band. It could only be removed by Mother Nature or the one who put it around someone's wrist, and it meant that if someone tried to talk to Mother Nature, or anyone, really, while wearing it, they weren't trustworthy and no one would listen to them. It also made sure that mortals couldn't see them, even if they believed. Soon North had wrapped one around Cupid and Leppy's wrists as well. They could all still do their job, but no one would ever believe anything they said.

Ground scrambled out of the door, with Leppy and Cupid following close behind. All Guardian's immediately turned to look at Jack, who looked like he was about to pass out yet was still smiling, somehow. "Thanks guys." He breathed, before collapsing back against the bed, fighting the urge to sleep. He forced his eyes open as he looked at the other Guardian's, still slightly worried. "You – you'll still be with me, won't you? You promise you won't abandon me ever again?"

Tooth smiled slightly while Bunny chuckled. "Jack, we'll always be here. We won't let you be alone ever again, promise." North said, hugging him. Jack leaned into his touch, muttering something before he fell asleep. "You guys are like my family, you know that?"

Everyone smiled at the immortal teen and leaned in to hug him, even Bunny, all of them mentally vowing that they would never let Jack be alone again as they waited for Jack to wake up, all of them ready to protect the ice child from any harm.

**So? How was it? Sorry for the bad ending, I'm no good at summaries. So yeah, please leave a review!**


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